Destiny's Faith
by erraticshift
Summary: Set 26 years after the victory over the Earth Empire, Team Avatar is all grown up and each of its members found their own families. San, a 17-year-old waterbender from RC, had a relatively good childhood, but his life takes a new direction when his relationship with his mother crosses new borders. And besides this, a new danger is in the city.
1. Prologue

Everyone on Air Temple Island was in a fever of excitement. No one had ever seen this day coming, but on the other hand, some did. Friends and family were all gathered in the dining room. Each of them lost in their own thoughts.

Everything was silent, but everyone's heart was beating fast. They didn't know when it would happen. When their lives would change. It was like being in a war. One had been prepared for the coming battle and only wanted to fight, eager for the adrenaline flowing through the body. Though, it was unpredictable when and where it would happen. But the worst part was the wait.

While one's waiting, every kind of thoughts and questions were swimming in the head while time seemed to go by slower than usual. One didn't know how to behave in such a situation or how to feel. Without knowing, the war had already started inside of one. It was unbearable, breaking. The gaze always found back to the clock. Its steady tick bringing every minute closer. The silence was almost catchable, paired with pure excitement and nervousness.

Asami was sitting in a chair, her gaze constantly kept on the floor while her hands were folded together. Concern and ignorance marking her. Mako was standing a few meters away from her, leaning at the wall. His look was unremarkably gliding through the room and back to the clock. Strain flooding through his body. His brother, on the other side, was extremely nervous; his eyes rapidly switching between the corridor and the clock all the time. Next to him was Opal who had laid a calming hand on his shoulder, but of course she was excited as well. She watched how Tenzin stood up from his chair and walked in circles. His face was stressed while he seemed to think about something.

"I think I can't wait anymore," Bolin suddenly said. His voice sounded breathless, like he had held his breath all over the time. With this, the silence was broken and everybody looked up to him.

"Sweetie, I know it's hard, but we have to be patient." He heard Opal's surprising calm voice saying, but sighed.

"It's been two hours. Why didn't anyone come yet? What if something went wrong? What if-"

"Bolin, trust me, nothing's going to go wrong. Things like this always need time." She gave him an assuring smile, which he returned weakly.

"She's right." Now it was Mako who had earned all the gazes. "There's nothing we can do right now. We just have to wait."

Tenzin was about to say something when suddenly, all of them looked at Ikki who approached them. Everyone got up and had a concern look on their faces when seeing the airbender. Asami came closer. "And? Is it ... over?" Ikki briefly closed her eyes and nodded. A smile crept over her face. "Yes. The baby's safe and sound. You can go see -"

"FINALLY!" Bolin quickly pushed Ikki aside and ran to the end of the corridor.

"Bolin!" Mako tried to stop him, but it was hopeless. The earthbender was too excited. He sighed and looked unsurely at Asami who looked back. A small hint of joy but sadness was on her face.

Tenzin came to his side and nodded at him. "Let's go and see the baby." He gave Ikki another nod before she brought them to the room in which the baby was.

Bolin was already there and took a deep breath before he put his head into the room. With a little smirk was on his face, he asked: "And, am I uncle now?" The persons in the room smiled and signaled him to step in. Unconfidently, he walked towards the bed in front of him and smiled a little by seeing the wonderful picture. Shortly after, the others also stepped inside and he made way for his brother who was also astonished.

In front of him, Korra was lying in the bed; a couple wisps of hair were in her face, but though she was exhausted, she managed to bring up a heart-melting smile and her eyes beamed with happiness and unseizable love. Mako couldn't resist but smile as well when he saw the little infant in her weak arms that was in a white towel. It was a magnificent moment no one wanted - or dared - to ruin.

After minutes passing by, Bolin asked quietly: "Is it a girl or a boy?"

Without looking up, Korra replied in an even more quiet but lovely voice: "It's a boy." For the first time, she raised her head and looked at Mako who, in turn, couldn't break the eye contact with the baby. With ''his'' son. Questioningly, he briefly looked to Korra who allowed him with a brief nod to pick him up.

Carefully, Mako took his baby into the arms and smiled again at the harmless boy whose eyes were closed. With a gentle voice he welcomed him: "Hello, little rookie."

Behind him, Bolin expressed pure joy, considering it meant he had become uncle. "Wow. I still can't believe it. I am uncle now! 'Uncle Bolin' ... That sounds great! Yeah, Uncle Bolin is good. I can't wait for my nephew to call me like that! ... But, anyways, how are you going to name him? May I suggest ''Bolin Jr.''?"

Opal rolled her eyes at the "suggestion". But the fresh parents didn't find the idea behind the name so bad. "I think, he should have a name that suits him while it's referring to the past. Something like ..."

"How about San?" Mako suggested. "it had been the name of my father."

"San ..." Korra repeated. She wanted to see if it was the right name and how the sound of it was. It was good.

"Seems good," she complied.

Asami was also fond of the name. "I think it quite fits to him. It's short, but filled with a mysterious meaning and it is the name of his late grandfather."

Only Bumi seemed to have another name in mind.

"Well, I think Bumi Jr. sounds better."

Korra smiled at the irony. "Then San it is."

When Mako handed San back to Korra, all she could say was:

"Don't be afraid. I will protect you and if it's needed I'll give my life for yours. Even if it's the last thing I do."


	2. Children of Destiny

Burning beams of the sun slid over Republic City and sent a nice warmth on a clear day when a boy was walking in an empty street. No one would have had any suspicions just because of an innocent boy taking a walk, but only if something about him wouldn't have been a little bit off. His steps were long and slow. His head was straight. His body was tense. And his eyes were narrowed. The icy-blue eyes quickly moved to the left and to the right, giving the teenager a fierce look.

On days like these, everyone was forced to cover up under a hard shell if one didn't want to land in the hospital right away or end up as orphan on the streets. Of course, only when one didn't feel safe. Safety meant nothing in Republic City. Every day, criminals were bullying some innocent person and breaking out of jail. The police guaranteed to have everything under control, but who said they would have themselves under control? Right. No one. So it wouldn't make much sense to trust them on such days. Everyone was left to their own devices.

The teenager knew that as well, underlining the two swords that were put into two crossed sheaths which were hanging on his back. Granted, he didn't have to deal with a bunch of criminals every day, nor had business with them, but the reason why he, a 17-year-old boy, was there at all, wasn't something his mother would've been happy about either.

He came to a sudden halt when he reached a corner that led into an alley. His feet stopped just before the space between the line of houses. He briefly shut his eyes, before turning his head around - only to meet nothing. The alley, whose moldy gray walls had been sprayed, didn't present much but stinky trash cans and some mice that were on the lookout for some food in them.

Still unimpressed, he took a step back and went to the middle of the street to get a better overview. Relatively slowly, he walked further while observing the area attentively. Then he stopped and closed his eyes again in an attempt to get any hint of attackers by only using his ears.

It was unknown to him, however, that two persons were eyeing him. One of them was standing close to him on a roof and had his eyes solely on him while the other one was standing at a corner, already in a fighting stance. When he was sure the coast was clear, he quietly bended a boulder out of the floor and held it ready in the air. He quickly shared assuring eye contact with his colleague who gave him a nod.

Without hesitating, he sent the boulder towards the boy who, however, noticed the flying object in time and made a subtle spin while opening his eyes right before the boulder flew by and landed in a wall.

Again, the attacker threw another couple of boulders towards his target who, on the other hand, did a dive to the side and dove into a roll. But directly after, another dozen of boulders found their way to him. This time they consisted of lava to ensure a hot death for the victim. Though, the supposed victim didn't move and instead, a slight smirk crept over his face. It didn't need a lot but only to duck to escape the rocks of death his uncle used to call.

"Come on! Is that all you got?"

Right after, a fire stream appeared from the side which he evaded shortly with a jump. His gaze glided to the top to one of the roofs where he saw his second attacker.

"Well, seems like he doesn't care about a good hideout.''

A big fireball was flying towards him when suddenly two bigger lava boulders from the left side also made their way towards him. Without leaving his position, he froze and watched as the dangerous flying objects came closer.

''Just a little bit closer ...''

Meanwhile, the hot elements weren't even two meters apart from him until they threatened to destroy him when he suddenly jumped into the air and made a perfect 360° degree-spin during the collision of fire, earth and lava while the three elements formed yellowish dust behind him.

Easily, he landed on the bottom and pulled out his swords, spinning them coolly, until the attacker jumped off the roof and fired mid-air another fireballs which his target subject evaded through smooth, converging moves. While he had to prove himself again, the first attacker also stepped out of his hideout before stamping his foot forceful onto the floor and placing the palms on it whereupon massive warmth was created and the ground below seemed to melt. A big mass of lava was formed that was spreading into the direction of the boy in front of it. The latter's eyes widened in shock when watching the nearing mass.

''Great..''

He quickly regained his composure and was thinking intensely about a way out. A brief look told him that in the kitty-corner the firebender had taken position on his right side.

 _Okay, short sum-up:_

 _Cornered by two men. Among them a firebender and an earthbender. Right now, a huge mass of hot lava is coming straight towards me and my current chances of survival are given low. Not to forget, the other guy's having sight of me. ... I guess the swords won't help much._

Following a brief thoughtful look onto the swords in his hands, he put them away.

 _Step one would be done. On to step two. Surviving. Technically, I could run off into the other direction.._

The closer the lava came, the more the area was becoming hot plus the surroundings began to seemingly become muggy, joined with other effects ...

 _'Kay. Thing is coming closer. Everything around has become damn hot and my eyes are playing tricks on me. Considering my current situation, it'd be good to sling my hook._

"Seems like you're pretty burnt out, Sunnyboy," he heard his opponent on the right saying.

 _Sunnyboy? Seriously? Unfortunately, he's right though. He always is, sort of. ... Running away would be kind of stupid, given that I'd be in clear line of fire. But why not use my bending? Guess I should use it._

Feverishly, he looked for source of water when suddenly an idea stroke him.

 _Although there's this industry substance in the air, I could bend water out of it._

With subtle moves, he moved his arms in circles over the head when he bended some water out of the air that he directly let flow towards the coming lava. At the contact of the water and the lava, steam was formed which he used as cover. When the whole area was covered in thick steam, the waterbender once again pulled out his familiar swords right before swinging them another time in his hands. Anxiously, he wandered through the white.

However, the steam began to clear away what meant he would be easy prey again. In front of him, his eyes could make out the earthbender who quickly got into a fighting stance when seeing his opponent. The latter also found the firebender, who stood in a similar position as his front man, right behind him. Upon witnessing the firebender creating a lightning that belonged to him, the boy's eyes widened in shock.

 _Stay calm. You have everything under control. You_ 've _already prevented the burning of_ _your skin._ _Compared, alightning won't be a_ _problem then as well. Hopefully._

When the firebender shot the lightning, its target made another dive to the side, causing the lightning to come towards the earthbender who quickly created a wall that sent its maker a few steps away when getting hit by the lightning.

"You all right?," he heard his partner asking when getting up from the floor.

He nodded before his eyes automatically discovered the boy that was trying to sneak away secretly. When noticing the look of the earthbender, he embarrassingly turned around to the older company.

 _Okay, plan A has just failed. Moving on to plan B which will hopefully end up more successful._

"Well, guys, I am waiting."

The two men gave each other a questioning look before attacking with combined power at once, throwing their opponent off-guard.

 _The provoking didn't work as I had thought._ _Back to the original plan; trying_ _to_ _survive._

Fireballs and earth boulders were flying with immense speed towards him, but the waterbender knew how to evade them. This time with more stressed muscles, he did light-footed moves that guided him to safety. Suddenly, the shots took an end and so the defending. Before the teenager could also go into the offensive, a pile of earth jutted out of the floor which hit him unexpectedly and kicked him a few meters backwards.

Little pieces of earth were thrown into the air when his unprotected head thudded on the floor; his face was strained. While the men walked voiceless towards him, he managed to hold up himself with his hands and saw them by looking up staying right in front of him. A giant boulder was hovering above him he couldn't evade to no avail.

His head maybe was a bit fuzzy, but therefore his hears sharpened when the firebender began to speak.

"The game is over."

Before he could say something, the boulder was freed of its stance and was falling straight onto him.

But was stopped soon after.

"I can't believe it."

Bolin stopped the boulder and sent it away to turn around like his brother to see the person whose voice all of them knew very well.

Only a few steps apart, Korra was standing in front of them and had witnessed appallingly the scenario. While the boy was slowly getting up in the background, Mako was confronted by an angry look from his friend.

"Korra, I can explain every-"

But she roughly cut him off.

"How many times have I told you that I don't want you to train with San?"

The brothers gave each other a guilty look. But San stepped forward to talk some sense into her.

"Please, don't be angry at them. It's not their fault. I was the one who convinced them to a little sparring fight."

But Korra wasn't really impressed by this. "For me, this looks more than a sparring fight."

A bit embarrassed, he looked around. "Well, maybe we took it a little bit too far..."

Much to his surprise, Bolin also spoke out his opinion: "Korra, we both know that it can't go on like this forever. Believe me, San is an extremely good fighter and has lots of potential. He needs continuous training."

But Korra only shook her head vehemently. "No. He ''won't'' fight. This discussion is over." With a meaningful look she told them there'd be nothing to talk about anymore until she turned back to San.

"We're going home."

"But-"

" _Now_."

With a look over the shoulder, he looked at the brothers who gave him an assuring look and smiled weakly - at least Bolin did -, before he turned his head around to catch up with the older waterbender.

After a while, Bolin turned to Mako and asked: "Do you think she'll ever let him go?"

"Not the slightest chance."

In the meanwhile, the airbender family had come together for breakfast. At least the most of them were eating.

"Would you two _please_ stop with playing around?" Pema warned her sons that were teasing each other.

Meelo, who had thrust his fist into Rohan's stomach, laid his arm onto his brother's neck and pulled him to his side.

"Mother, please. I thought it's allowed to exchange close bonds in our family."

Pema sighed. "Oh, it is. I know this for over twenty years since you and your siblings keep exchanging those bonds everyday," she told stressed, "but do you think it would be possible for you two to continue later? Everyone's eating."

The two brothers let their gazes glide over the table to check their mother's statement. De facto, everyone was eating unstressed. Everyone except one.

Saraya had rested her right elbow on the table and was looking dreamily to somewhere far away. She got back into reality, however, when hearing the teasing voice of her uncle.

"Ooh, are we dreaming about a certain waterbender?"

Ashamed, she took her elbow off the table while she unsuccessfully tried to give a normal response. "Ehh ... No, eh ... I ..." Her cheeks slowly became slightly pink when she managed to open the lying book in front of her and to hide her face in it.

Meelo and Rohan smirked. " _Mittyyy_."

Tenzin, who was sitting next to Pema, let up from his rice and sternly said: "It is not hilarious to make up fun over love. And Saraya, you know that you shouldn't read during dinner." He looked over to her when she carefully raised her head.

"I'm sorry, Grandfather. I was just ... lost in my thoughts."

Tenzin only nodded when she put the book away while her mother, who was sitting a few seats away, smiled covertly, knowing what was going on in her daughter's head.

Without any other disturbings, the family went back to eating while Saraya started drifting off again..

When they both entered the living room, San didn't hesitate to ask: "Why are you doing this? You can't just bump in on our training session and lead me away like that!"

Korra turned around to face him; a stern and guilty look on her face. "Because it's best for you. You shouldn't train like that. You could get hurt." A brief pause followed, before she added with a lower voice: "That's the reason I quit with your training." An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, so both had time to catch their breath.

"You mean, you quit training, so _you_ wouldn't get hurt."

The Avatar made a surprised look upon hearing this. She sat down onto the red sofa that was behind her and lowered her head. "You don't know, what you're talking about.." But this didn't make San stop to exclaim his opinion. "Mom, I'm not a little boy anymore. I can take care of myself and if you wouldn't have quit my - ''our'' - training, I wouldn't have gone this far. Please try to understand me. I mean, what was I supposed to do? You left me no other option."

Finally, the Avatar looked up to him. "There's always an option, San. You only chose it this way, but we both know, you could've chosen otherwise. Life is a constant challenge and you will always need to decide between right and wrong, yes or no, or between _'Will I get_ _whatt I want?'_ and _'Do I really need this in my life or do I_ _already have everything_ I _ever wanted?'_ It lies in our own hands. And don't act like you wouldn't know this." She eyed him with a sincere look he couldn't object.

San sighed. ''Of course she had to play the 'I'm wise and you know that my word is truth' - card.'' Without any word, Korra got up and put her hand forth. "Give me your swords."

San's eyes widened in incredulity. "What?!" But the look his mother gave him was indicating that she meant it serious. "No! I ''won't''. You may can hold me back from training, but you can't take my swords! Dad gave me those on my birthday, you remember? You know how much meaning they have to me."

By the last sentence his voice got lower, indicating nostalgia. But Korra's hand didn't move. It still was stretched out, waiting to be filled. He looked at her one more time.

"You _can't_ do this to me. And I know you don't _want_ to."

Korra didn't respond.

San sighed. _If she wants it this way, she can have it._ Wordlessly, he took the sheaths from his back and laid them into her hand which enclosed them before she took them.

"San, I know-"

"You don't know anything!" he shouted; much to Korra's shock. "You keep pretending to know everything and what would be best, but ever since we began to drive apart, you only make things worse. You try to make sure I can't bend, don't even bend yourself anymore and now you take away my swords. ''Why'' are you doing this?" He gave her an appeasing look and waited. Waited for something. Anything. An answer. A reaction. An explanation.

But nothing of these ever came.

He shook his head in disbelief before storming off and shutting the door, leaving the Avatar alone in the living room. Regret scarring her.


End file.
